Jim Capoot'sdeath must not be in vain

A year ago today, Vallejo Police Officer Jim Capoot said goodbye to his family as he headed to work.

A few hours later he was shot to death after a vehicle and foot pursuit of a bank robbery suspect. Just 45, Capoot was the first Vallejo officer killed in the line of duty in more than a decade and the fourth in the city's history.

Capoot's death hit Vallejo hard, not because he was a police officer, but because he had dedicated his life to helping others, as a former Marine, as a family man, as the girl's basketball coach at Vallejo High School, and -- yes, as a police officer.

Such deaths are life changing, not only for the victim's family and friends, but in this case an entire community, most of whom had never heard of Jim Capoot. The outpouring of support, messages of anguish and sympathy was as incredible as it was sincere.

Today at 11 a.m., there will be an observance ceremony for Capoot at Vallejo City Hall. It won't bring him back, but it may provide those he left behind one more step in their healing. The public is invited.

That in the wake of Capoot's death Vallejoans continue to be outraged and shocked by the violence in this community is important, because it means that they have not given into it. Just 24 hours before today's ceremony, police were giving details of a brutal assault by a teenage suspect against a 65-year-old Vallejo woman. Among those details were that passersby became involved in aiding the victim and offering police information that led them to the suspect's arrest.

In this space we have written numerous times about the ongoing violence that has afflicted this city. It began long before Jim Capoot's tragic death and will continue long past other anniversary observances of it. We will not dwell on such violence today, except to say that this anniversary must serve not only as a reminder of a dedicated public servant, but also as a reminder that his death must lead to a greater community effort to avoid similar ones.